DR AMINA TARIQ
BIOCHEMISTRY

• Survival of a multicellular organism depends on their ability to adapt to the constantly changing environment.
• Intercellular communication mechanisms are necessary for this adaptation.
• Nervous system and endocrine system provide this intercellular, organism- wide communication.

• Word hormone is a Greek term that means to arouse to activity.
• Hormone is defined as a substance that is synthesized in one organ and transported by the circulatory system to act on another tissue.

• Cholesterol derived Hormones-
Glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, estrogens, Progestins, 1,25 (OH)
2
-D
3
.
• Steroid hormone can be the precursor of another hormone e.g. Progesterone is the precursor of Mineralocorticoids,
Glucocorticoids, and androgens.

• Testosterone is then an obligatory intermediate in the biosynthesis of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone.
• The final product s determined by the cell type and set of enzymes that present.

• The amino acid tyrosine is the precursor of catecholamines and of thyroid hormones.
• Thyroid hormones require Iodine addition for their bioactivity.
• Many hormones are polypeptides e.g.
ACTH(39 AA), TRH(tripeptide), PTH (84 AA)and growth hormone(191 AA).

• Insulin has AB chains formed from 21 and 30 amino acids.
• FSH,LH,TSH,CG are glycoproteins. The alpha chain is identical in all these hormones and the beta chain is specific.

• Some hormones are synthesized in the final form and secreted immediately. e.g.
Cholesterol derived hormones.
• Other hormones are synthesized in the final form and stored in the producing cells e.g.
Catecholamines.

• Some hormones are synthesized from their precursor molecules, processed and then secreted upon a physiologic response e.g.
Insulin.
• Others are converted to active forms from precursor molecules in the periphery e.g. T
3 and DHT.

 Homeostatic adaptations by an organism are in large part accomplished through alterations of the activity and amount of proteins.
 Hormones provide a major means of facilitating these changes.
 Hormone –receptor interaction occurs that results in the generation of an intracellular signal.

 Intracellular signal can either regulate the activity of a select set of genes , leading to alteration in the amount of certain proteins in the target cell.
 Or this signal affect the activity of specific proteins including enzymes, transporter or channel proteins.

 The signal can influence the location of proteins in the cell and can affect their general processes such as: Protein synthesis, cell growth and replication through effects on gene expression.
 Other signaling molecules e.g. interleukins, growth factors, cytokines and metabolites use some of the general mechanisms and signaling pathways.

• Excess, deficiency or inappropriate production and release of these hormones and regulatory molecules are major causes of disease.
• Many pharmcotherapeutic agents are aimed at influencing these pathways.

• Hormones are present in very low concentrations in the extracellular fluid, generally in the atto (10ˉ 18 ) to nanomolar
(10 ˉ9 ) range.
• Other molecules are present in millimoles and micromoles range.

• The cells have to distinguish between hormones and other substances.
• This high degree of recognition is provided by cell associated recognition molecules called
Receptors.

• Hormones initiate their biologic effects by binding to specific receptors.
• A target cell is defined by its ability to selectively bind a given hormone to its cognate receptor.

• Receptors have at least two functional domains.
• A recognition domain – it binds to the hormone ligand.
• Second region –that generates a signal when the hormone binds to it.

• The dual function of binding and coupling
( signal generation) ultimately defines a receptor.
• It is the coupling of hormone binding to signal transduction called, receptor – effector coupling.
• This is the first step in the amplification of hormonal response.

• This dual purpose also distinguishes the receptor from the plasma protein that also bind hormone but do not generate signal.

• Receptors are proteins.
• Several classes of peptide receptors have been identified.
• EXAMPLES:
 Insulin receptor: It is a heterotetramer composed of two different protein subunits(α
2
β
2
).

• α subunit bind the insulin and β subunit span the membrane. It has got intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity (IGF-1 and EGF- similar receptor) .
• Polypeptide hormones & catecholamine's transduce signals through G- proteins that have seven domains spaning the membrane.

Hormones can be classified according to:
• Chemical composition
• Solubility properties
• Location of receptors
• Nature of signal used to mediate hormonal action within the cell.

• The following classification is based on the location of receptors and the nature of signal produced;

I. Hormones that bind to intracellular receptors:
Androgens
Calcitriol
Estrogens
Progestins
Retinoic acid
Glucocorticoids
Mineralocorticoids
Thyroid hormones

II. Hormones that bind to cell surface receptors
A. Second messenger is cAMP:
α
2 adrenergic catecholamines
β- adrenergic catecholamines
ACTH
ADH
Calcitonin
FSH

LH
PTH
TSH
Glucagon
Somatostatin

B. Second messenger is cGMP:
Atrial natriuretic factor
Nitric oxide

C. Second messenger is calcium or phosphatidylinositol:
Acetylcholine
Angiotensin
Gastrin
TRH
Oxytocin
ADH
PDGF

D. Second messenger is a Kinase or
Phosphatese cascade:
Erythropoietin
GH
IGF I-II
PDGF
Prolactin
EDGF

• General steps involved in producing a coordinated response to a particular stimulus are:
 Recognition
 Hormone release
 Signal generation
 Effects

 Recognition - of stimulus
 Release of hormones- group I or group II
 Signal generation – Group I(hormone- receptor complex)
Group II (many different signals)
 Effects- Group I (Gene transcription)
Group II ( gene transcription, channels & transporters, Protein translocation, Protein modification)

• At the organismic level the recognition involves the nervous system and the special senses.
• At the cellular level it involves physiochemical factors such as: pH, O
2 tension, temperature, nutrient supply, noxious metabolites and osmolarity.

• Autocrine signaling
• Paracrine signaling
• Endocrine signaling
• Direct signaling
• Synaptic signaling

GROUP II GROUP I
1. TYPES
 Steroids  Polypeptides
 Proteins
 Glycoproteins
 Catecholamines
2. Solubility
 Lipophilic  Hydrophilic

3. Transport proteins
 Yes
4. Plasma half life
 Long(hrs-days)
5. Receptor
 Intracellular
 No
 Short(mins)
 Plasma membrane

6.Mediators
 Receptor -hormone complex
 cAMP,
 cGMP,
 Ca/phosphoinositol
 Kinase cascade

• GROUP I HORMONES:
• Group I hormones are lipophilic.
• They diffuse through the plasma membrane of all cells and they encounter their receptors intracellularly.
• These receptors can be located in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus of target cells.

• Hormone –receptor complex first undergoes activation reaction.
• Activation reaction occurs by at least two mechanisms:
• For example:
1. Glucocorticoids diffuse across the plasma membrane and encounter their cognate receptors in the cytoplasm of target cells.

• In the cytoplasm these receptors are attached to heat shock proteins 90 (hsp90).
• Ligand (hormone) –receptor binding results in the conformational change in the receptor.
• This binding of hormone results in the dissociation of hsp90.

• This step is necessary for the nuclear localization of the receptor.
• The activated receptor moves into the nucleus.
• There it binds with high affinity to specific
DNA sequence called hormone response element(HRE).

• This DNA bound liganded receptor serves as a high affinity binding site for co-activator proteins.
• This leads to accelerated gene transcription.

2. On the other hand hormones such as the thyroids and retinoids diffuse from the extracellular fluid across the membrane and go directly into the nucleus.
• In this case the cognate receptor is already bound to HRE, in this case called TRE.

• But this DNA bound receptor fails to activate transcription because it exists in complex with a co-repressor.
• This receptor – co-repressor complex serves as an active repressor of gene transcription.
• The association of ligand with these receptors result in the dissociation of the co-repressor.

• When the ligand binds to the receptor it results in the dissociation of co repressor.
• The liganded receptor is now capable of binding co activators, leading to gene transcription.

• The liganded receptor is now capable of binding one or more co activators, and this causes activation of gene transcription.

• Many hormones are water soluble, have no transport proteins and therefore has got a short plasma half life, and they initiate a response by binding to a receptor located in the plasma membrane.
• Their mechanism of action is described in terms of intracellular signal they generate.

• These signals include cAMP, cGMP, Ca and phosphatidylinositides.
• These molecules are termed as second messengers and their synthesis is triggered by the presence of primary hormone binding to its receptor.
• These messengers may affect gene transcription and other biologic processes.

• Many of the group II hormones bind to receptors that couple to effectors through a
GTP- binding protein intermediary.
• These receptors have seven membrane spanning domains.
• Members of this class which signal through Gproteins are called, G-protein-coupled receptors.
• It is the largest family of cell surface receptors.

• Components:
• Seven membrane spaning domains
• G- protein complex has α, β, γ subunits.
• In inactive form is GDP bound form and is not associated with the receptor.
• This group is attached to the plasma membrane through Prenylation on the β, γ subunits.

• On binding of the hormone to the receptor, a conformational change in the receptor occurs.
• G-protein complex is activated.
• This cause the binding of GTP in exchange of
GDP..
• This binding occurs on the α subunit and, β γ subunits dissociate from it.

• α subunit binds to and activate the effector.
• Effector can be adenylyl cyclase, Ca, Na, or Cl or K channels, Phospholipase, or cGMP phosphodiestrase.

• cAMP was the first signal that was identified in mammalian cells.
• Different Peptide hormones can either stimulate or inhibit the production of cAMP from adenylyl cyclase.

• It has got a Catalytic molecule.
• Each consists of a receptor R (Rs & Ri).
• And a regulatory molecule G (Gs & Gi)
• The regulatory complex(G) is composed of αβγ subunit.
• α subunit differs in both Gs & Gi.

• The hormone binds to Rs or Ri and results in receptor mediated activation of G, which entails the binding of GTP on α subunit.
• αs protein has intrinsic GTPase activity.
• So the active form αs – GTP is inactivated .
• Again the trimeric Gs complex(αβγ) is formed.

• On the other hand αi-GTP inhibit adenylyl cyclase by binding it.
• This lowers the concentration of cAMP.
• The action of cAMP is to mainly activate some of the protein kinases.
• In eukaryotic cells cAMP binds to a protein kinase called Protein Kinase A.

• PKA is a heterotetrameric molecule and consists of two regulatory subunits and two catalytic subunits.
• 4cAMP+ R
2
• R
2
C
2
C
2
↔ R
2
.(4cAMP)+ 2C is not active catalytically, but the C unit is active.
• The active C unit catalyzes the transfer of γ phosphate of ATP to a serine or threonine residue in a variety of proteins.

• Phosphatases remove this phosphate and terminate the physiologic response.
• Phosphodiestrase can also terminate this action by converting cAMP to 5’-AMP.
• Inhibitors of phosphodiesterase like caffeine, which is a methylated xanthine derivative, increase the concentration of cAMP and prolongs the action of hormones.

• cGMP is made from GTP by the enzyme gaunylyl cyclase.
• Atrial natriuretic peptide and nitric oxide function through this Signal.
• These are potent vasodilators.
• Inhibitors of cGMP phosphodiestrase is sildenafil (Viagra).